1.5 Litre 1st Series

The ‘Bertelli’ first series cars stemmed from the ambition of Renwick and Bertelli to build their own car. Having bought the right to use the Aston Martin name, these cars were however completely different to the earlier side-valve models, save for one or two components. Starting with a ‘clean sheet of paper’, the new cars were very much a mid 1920s design; if anything, conservative in its approach, in terms of chassis layout and mechanical specification. Not dissimilar in a few respects to the earlier B & M side-valve cars the first series cars had a remote gearbox and torque tube rear axle. The first of the ‘Bertelli cars’, the ‘T-type’, was a touring car at the luxury end of the market. It was the sort of car that Renwick had originally envisaged and was keen to develop.

However, Bertelli realized that there was a gap in the market for a high quality sports car. Using competition to gain publicity to promote the marque (just as Bamford and Martin had done) the sporting association with the Aston Martin name continued right through the 1930s with some success, not least at Le Mans. The short chassis ‘Sports Model’ was the first inkling of the way production would progress with the emphasis much more as a sports cars rather than a touring car.

The most successful of the first series cars was the ‘International’. In the best tradition it was campaigned on circuits and in rallies and was well received by the press. Though relatively few long chassis ‘Internationals’ were built, and the production of the saloon continued, it was the short chassis ‘International’ that put the new Aston Martin company on the map.